A few months ago, I spotted a news story about Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, who happens to be a Republican. He was catching heat from the opposing party over a new snow-melt system for a brick walkway at the governor’s mansion. It was politics as usual.
Doug Mayer, who is the governor’s spokesman, said this was a common-sense project that would extend the life of the walkway and save money as time went by. He explained the governor had nothing to do with the planning of this snow-melt job, but that didn’t matter. The opposition jumped all over him. They saw snow melt as a luxury item, even though it was going to pay for itself in five years and continue to save money and offer many other benefits as time went by. The walkway was going to last a lot longer, but none of that mattered. It was a political opportunity to pounce.